Boost for Gaelphobal Thamhlachta after receiving €10,000 National Lottery Good Causes Award
By Mary Dennehy
GAELPHOBAL Thamhlachta was last weekend presented with a €10,000 national award, which will help develop an outdoor seating area to the back of Café Aon Scéal in Tallaght Village, reports Mary Dennehy.
An Irish language and cultural organisation, Gaelphobal Thamhlachta was one of six category winners at this year’s National Lottery Good Causes Awards.
Dawn McKeever, manager of Café Aon Scéal, Bairbre Ní Ghoill, the Principal of Scoil Caitlín Maude in Killinarden and Pól Ó Meadhra, Scoil Santain teacher and member of Gaelphobal Thamhlachta
Gaelphobal Thamhlachta aims to promote the Irish language in Tallaght, harnessing the local love of Gaeilge and providing a social setting where it can be spoken as part of everyday life.
Café Aon Scéal is part of a cultural centre opened by Gaelphobal Thamhlachta on Tallaght’s Main Street in late 2019.
Speaking with The Echo after the Good Causes Awards, Pól Ó Meadhra, a Scoil Santain teacher and member of Gaelphobal Thamhlachta, said: “There’s been a lot of work put into the centre, and it’s nice to get this recognition nationally.”
According to Pól, Irish language and cultural centres like the one in Tallaght are an important step in the revival of the language.
“The Gaelscoil movement has been fantastic, it’s so active nationally… there’s a huge amount of energy in it,” Pól said.
“We now need to build a community around these schools… and the second phase of the Irish language revival is these centres.
“It’s estimated that after school we lose about 10 per cent of a language every year unless we are using it.
“We need a change in mind-set [when it comes to the Irish language], it is a spoken language.”
Pól confirmed that some of the money awarded through the National Lottery’s Good Causes programme will go towards creating an outdoor seating area to the back of the bilingual Café Aon Scéal.
The café is currently closed but is set to open for takeaway and outdoor dining in the coming weeks.
“We’re hopeful to get open in the coming weeks,” Pól said.
“We’d encourage people to keep an eye on our social media for updates.”
A percentage of the €10k awarded has also been earmarked for the transformation of a large shed in the centre’s back garden, which will be used as a meeting space for different groups.
Gaelphobal Thamhlachta won the Irish Language category at last weekend’s Good Causes Awards, which saw 36 finalists tune into a virtual event.
For further information follow Café Aon Scéal on Facebook.
